Urban Forest Assessment

Urban Forest Inventory and Assessment Pilot Study

What is Assessment

Effective management of any resource requires understanding what you have. Urban forest assessment is the documentation of trees within Wisconsin urban areas. Assessments and inventories are the building blocks to developing an urban forest management plan. They outline the current resource and can assist in setting maintenance schedules and setting realistic future canopy goals. The current primary use for assessment projects are to identify where ash are within communities in preparation for emerald ash borer (EAB).

Different Types of Assessment

Assessment projects can be accomplished in a variety of ways including on-the-ground inventories and/or remotely sensed tree canopy analysis. Some methods are more comprehensive than others, but the bottom line is that any type of inventory or assessment is better than none.

On-the-ground

This type of inventory can be done as a complete inventory or as a sample. Usually community street and park tree inventories are complete. It gives community managers an idea of what and where the trees are they are responsible for maintaining. Urban assessment projects that cross property bounds to include trees on public and private property are usually conducted using sampling methodologies because it would be cost and time prohibitive to do a complete inventory.

Remote Sensing

Urban application of remote sensing technology is an up and coming possibility. This method uses satellite imagery or aerial photography to map the entire tree canopy within an urban area. The advantage to this method is that it is comprehensive because the entire urban tree canopy is captured. A major disadvantage is that this technology does not yet allow for specific species identification.

Helpful Links and Additional Information

iTree [exit DNR] is a software suite developed by USDA Forest Service Research, State and Private Forestry and other cooperators. It is designed to put assessment and analysis tools directly into the hands of the user. Included within the suite are tools for data collection and tree effect/benefit models for both a full community and street tree inventory.